The invention relates to styling apparatus typically used in conjunction with a portable hair dryer.
More particularly, the invention relates to a styling tool capable of receiving a plurality of attachments to aid in styling the operator's hair in a safe, efficient manner.
Electrically-heated forced-air hair dryers are used with tools such as styling handles capable of receiving a plurality of drying/styling implements or attachments for manipulating the hair while the hair dryer is being used. To most effectively use forced hot air hair dryers, a variety of hair drying/styling implements capable of being interchangably mounted on the housing of the dryer in a fixed position with respect to the stream of heated air and on an associated hair styling tool were provided. For example, a prior art styling handle such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,905 owned by the assignee of this invention, illustrates a styling handle and hair dryer both of which are capable of receiving various drying/styling attachments. The attachments are capable of being connected to both the hair dryer and the handle by use of a mating tongue and groove construction. The use of the tongue and groove construction coupled with the required detents and recesses for locking the attachment in an operative position on the dryer as well as on the styling handle may result in the attachments not being readily releasable using only the operator's hand which is grasping the styling handle.
Further, such prior art constructions may cause the accidental disengagement of the attachment from the styling handle when a force along the axis of the styling tool (such as from tugging on the styling handle while the attachment is caught in the operator's hair) is realized.
Finally, hair styling handles which permitted two-handed styling in the past have typically resulted in a construction in which the end portion of the styling handle and the end portion of the associated attachment when mated, such as by sliding on and off, resulted in a parallel slot being formed between the face of the styling handle and the top portion of the attachment. The resulting gap or parallel slot at the extremity of prior art styling handles between the attachment and handle could result in the operator's hair becoming immeshed therein resulting in a less effective styling tool. The styling tool disclosed herein in a preferred embodiment includes at the outmost end of the styling handle a skirt portion which inlcudes pinholes for mating with pins on the associated contoured attachment. This construction of this invention therefore does not result in any such parallel slot necessarily associated with styling handles with slide-on attachments thereby realizing a more effective product.